Twenty Five
by Ms.Stery
Summary: A teenage Derek Morgan made a pretty big commitment to his friend Emily Prentiss when they were fourteen. Twenty-five years later, it's time to own up. I'm a horrible summarizer. Derek/Emily. Read and review, please!
1. Prologue

**This is the prologue-thing for a story I might write that based off a promise my best friend Crawford made me when we were eight. :] It's really short, but it's just to see the reaction. Read away!**

14-year-old Derek walked out of the back door of his house, plopping down on the wet grass next to long-time friend, Emily Prentiss.

"So," He began, nudging her lightly. "Did you have fun?"

Emily laughed, her almost-black hair falling in front of her eyes. "Yes, of course. I always have fun here. I just wish I could come more often."

Derek sighed. He knew Emily hated traveling around with her mother and also wished she could come visit more often. But he knew, under the circumstances, that the chances of that happening were very low. Emily's mom was an ambassador, causing her to move around the world frequently. But, she was Derek's mom's best friend in high school, which meant that the Prentiss's came and visited the Morgan's whenever they were in town. Derek and Emily had grew fond of each other, exchanging letters and emails while they were separated and having little traditions for when they got to spend time together, like the intense rounds of Guess Who and an old movie marathon. The favorite tradition, however, was their late-night-star-gazing-chats, where they would go sit in the back yard staring at stars and chatting until the late hours of the night, like they were now.

"I know, Em. But come on, we both know that's not going to happen." Derek stated reasonably.

Emily plucked a piece of grass from the ground and twirled it between her fingers. "I know. Just…wishful thinking, I guess."

Derek didn't reply. He just stared at her sadly. Something was wrong. Emily seemed…down. Less the bright, smiley Emily he was used to and more a sorrow-eyed, negative Emily that was unfamiliar to him. Even her clothes seemed darkened. Emily now opted for all-black jeans and shirts as opposed to her typical sunny attire. It worried Derek. He hoped she was okay. He laid back onto the grass, admiring the little bulbs of light that dotted the sky and thinking.

"Wow. The stars are great tonight. They must've sensed you coming." He joked, hoping to lighten the mood.

Emily just lay next to him on the grass, staying silent.

"Emily?" Derek asked, worry overcoming him.

"Derek, am I destined to become a lonely old woman with no friends and like, 24 cats?" Emily blurted.

Derek busted out laughing and looked at her, smiling. "What?"

Emily sat up, her face etched with bona fide concern. "No, really. Because this kid I met in Germany last week asked me about my friends and I told him about you, Des and Sarah and a couple of other kids I met that I've kept in touch with. He laughed, Derek Like full on laughed. Apparently, 6 friends aren't enough! This kid has like 200! And it got me thinking. What if, because my mom's job, I don't get to meet friends and never find my special someone and then in twenty five years, when everyone normal is married and happy, I'm bitter and alone?"

Derek opened his mouth, preparing to release another wave of laughter, but seeing his friend's worried eyes, he bit his lip. "Emily, come on. That's a bit dramatic, don't you think?"

"No, it's not! Sure, it's possible I may meet my soul mate after high school, when I'm settled down on my own. But what if due to my lack of people skills, I scare them off! I mean I have no experience with actual people, other than you guys. I'm home-schooled. No siblings. No friends for longer than 4 to 18 months. I'm destined to be a hermit! I'll never make college friends. I'll never go parties or be social. And finally, I'll never meet my special person and get married, forcing me to buy cats for company. And then, BAM, I'm cat-lady. It's fate."

Derek sat up. He had little blades of grass nestled in his inch of hair. He stared at her for a second, then reached out and grabbed a long piece of monkey grass and tied it into a small knot, breaking off the extra sides. "Emily! If you are really that concerned, I'll marry you."

Emily stared at him dumbfounded. "Huh?"

"I'll marry you." Derek repeated, grabbing her left hand and slipping the make shift ring around her finger. "I mean, in twenty-five years. If both you and I aren't married in twenty-five years, we can just marry each other.

"Derek Morgan. You have officially lost your mind." She stated.

"I'm serious, Em! I mean, our parents would definitely approve. Heck, they'd love it! And it wouldn't have to be a sexual thing anyways. It could just be to defeat loneliness. We could live together and hang out all the time. And if we met someone better, then so be it. It wouldn't be committal."

"Marriage wouldn't be committal?" Emily countered, fiddling with her grass-ring.

"Emily! Quit shooting down my ideas. This is what you wanted, right? A guarantee that you wouldn't be lonely. Just agree!" Derek persuaded.

"How do I even know you're serious? I mean, what's in it for you?" Emily asked, skeptical.

Derek raised an eyebrow. "A beautiful honey who will be all mine."

"Wow, you're a tease. You know, I'll make your little deal, because there is no way that the charming Derek Morgan won't be married by the time he's…39. So, sure I'll marry you."

Derek nodded. "Good. Now, let's talk about something more important."

Emily started cracking up. "You just agreed to marry me! That's not important?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong. It is. Just not when we're 14. Twenty-five years, and then we'll talk." He said, winking.

Emily laughed, but felt genuinely better.

**That's it, for now. In the next chapter, it skips to TWENTY-FIVE years in the future. Thoughts? Keep going? Or no? Let me know. :]**


	2. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, thanks for all the wonderful reviews, PMs, alerts and favorites. :] It made my day! I'm glad you liked the idea, and I hope my conveying of the story does it justice. Happy reading!**

Time passed. High school and college flew by. Their were visits and the traditions still remained strong. Eventually, Derek was in the BAU of the FBI, followed shortly by none other than Emily Prentiss. They liked working together, as they were still close friends. They hung out hung out quite frequently, actually. Every once and a while they would remember the silly promise, but never brought it up because deep down they both kind of took it seriously and thought the other forgot about it.

But they didn't.

One night, the team, minus Garcia, went to a small restaurant out of town after finishing a successful case. They chatted and laughed, as they normally did, until JJ noticed two young kids walk into the restaurant, holding hands.

"Awe." JJ cooed as the boy awkwardly held pulled open the chair for the girl, who blushed and sat. "Look, they're on a little date."

"Aren't they a little young to be on a date?" Reid asked, forehead scrunched. "They only look like they're thirteen or fourteen."

Morgan laughed. "Oh, come on man, don't you remember being a teenager and having a little girlfriend?"

"No." Reid replied simply.

"Now that, I don't get. I mean, how is it that you were fourteen like sixteen years ago, yet I, who was fourteen like three hundred years ago, can relate better to kids?" Morgan question teasingly.

"Um, twenty-five." Reid whispered quietly.

Morgan shook his head. "What?"

"You were fourteen twenty-five years ago. Not three hundred. That would mean you were 314, which is not only unknown to man, but also highly unlikely for…"

Morgan froze, tuning out Reid's technical talk. Twenty-five…

"Hey, you okay?" Hotch asked Morgan, tapping his shoulder.

"Um, yeah." Morgan replied. Making a quick decision, Morgan snatched up an empty straw wrapper and tied it around the top of his fork.

"What is he doing?" JJ asked. Everyone just watched on and shrugged.

Sliding it off the top of the fork, Morgan pushed back his chair with a screech and walked to Emily's chair, kneeling next to it.

"Morgan, what are you-" Emily questioned, a little freaked out.

Derek cut her off. "Emily Prentiss, will you marry me?"

Emily laughed and the team glanced at one another frantically, silently asking if anyone knew anything about Morgan and Prentiss having a "thing". Emily's laugh died down when she saw Morgan still kneeling there, looking intent.

"Derek, you can't be serious. We aren't dating, we're just friends." Emily said, perplexed.

"So, they're not dating…?" Spencer asked.

"Apparently not." JJ replied.

"Exactly, Em." Derek exclaimed. "Just friends. Remember the deal?"

Emily just froze.

"What deal?" Spencer questioned.

"Oh. The deal." Emily repeated slowly. "I forgot all about that. Come on, you wouldn't seriously…stick to that would you?"

"Stick to what?" Spencer asked, louder this time. Morgan and Prentiss ignored him and the rest of the team just shushed him as they watched, intrigued.

Derek nodded. "Yes. I would. And I am."

"I guess when you lost your mind that night 25 years ago, you never got it back, huh?" Emily stated. "Because you're acting pretty crazy."

"So, you did remember night! I knew it." He teased. Emily blushed. "And I'm not crazy, I'm just keeping a promise. Granted, I didn't remember until Spencer told me it had been twenty-five since I was fourteen, but as soon as I remembered, I didn't hesitate."

"This is crazy. You want to marry me, just as friends, because of a promise you made twenty-five years ago?" Emily asked.

"Actually, it was a deal. As in, both of us agreed to it. You know you want to Emily. It'll be fun. One big party. And it isn't permanent, remember? Noncommittal." Derek persuaded.

"…Well, what about the rules?" Emily asked.

"What rules?" Derek questioned.

Emily pointed to Hotch, whose eyebrows were scrunched together trying to figure out what was happening.

Hotch cleared his throat. "Um, maybe if you guys explained what was going on, I could tell you if the rules allow it?"

-:-

"So, let me get this straight…you proposed to Emily twenty-five years in advance?" Rossi asked, exasperated.

Morgan groaned. "No. I just promised to marry her if we weren't already married by the time we're thirty-nine! …So, um, I guess I did."

Rossi looked at Emily. "And you accepted?"

"Well, yes. But for the record, I called him crazy and only agreed because I figured this charmer wouldn't be unmarried for long." Emily explained, causing Morgan to grin proudly. "And I knew it would shut him up." She added, wiping the grin from his face.

"Well, that's sweet, but come on. I think we all know it's a little bit unreasonable." JJ said, smiling, a shooting Rossi a quick look.

"Oh, of course. These two couldn't stay together, even for a fake marriage. You two bicker like cat and dog 24/7." Rossi added.

Emily looked insulted. "We do not."

"Yes, you do." Reid stated.

"When did we last fight?" Morgan scoffed.

JJ laughed. "This afternoon about whether or not Morgan cheated at cards, in the car about which restaurant to go to, twenty minutes ago over whether we should get a table or a booth…"

Morgan interrupted. "Okay, fine. Point taken. But it's all just fun and games. We've been fighting like that since we were 8."

"Yeah, it doesn't mean we couldn't be married!" Emily fought back.

"So you want to marry Derek?" Hotch asked, using all his strength to keep a straight face.

Emily backtracked. "No! Well, I mean Derek's great, but…ugh."

Everyone laughed while Prentiss tried to find the right thing to say.

"I knew it." Rossi stated. "You guys couldn't get married. Admit it."

"Wanna bet?" Emily shot back.

"Yes, actually!" Reid piped up.

"Yeah. A bet. You and Morgan have to stay together, like a married couple, for a week. That means live together, eat together, drive around together…" Rossi began.

Morgan chuckled. "That's easy, we already do that because of work."

"…share a bathroom and sleep in the same bed." Rossi added. "You can pick whose house you want to stay at. I don't think you could last a week without cracking. But, you two seem to think otherwise, so let's figure out whose right. Whoever gets annoyed enough to leave or tell the other to leave first has to do all of our paperwork for a whole week."

"And you have to bring us coffee every morning. Real coffee, not BAU coffee." Reid chimed in, causing JJ to giggle.

Morgan and Emily exchanged a glance. "Um…" Emily mumbled.

Morgan cut in. "Well, what if neither of us crack?"

"Then, you have your pride?" Rossi tried.

"No. You have to do our paperwork for _two_ weeks and bring _us_ coffee every morning." Morgan said.

"That's not fair!" Reid exclaimed. "Why would they get two weeks when we only get one?"

"It's okay, Reid. They won't last anyways." Rossi pointed out, shutting the skinny genius up. "So, it's a deal?"

"Hey, remember me?" Emily asked sarcastically. "I get a say in this, don't I? This is insane."

Derek frowned. "Emily, have a little fun. It's just for a week. It will be easy!"

"Even if I said yes, Hotch wouldn't allow it. Right, Hotch?"

Hotch, who had been relatively quiet through the entire ordeal, just shrugged. "Actually, I don't see any harm in it. I mean, you won't be _really_ dating. Just as long as it doesn't effect your work…"

Emily groaned. That was her only chance of escaping.

Rossi smiled. "Come on, Prentiss. Prove me wrong."

After some silence, Emily sighed. "Fine. Yes, Morgan I will 'marry' you."

The rest of the group smirked together as Morgan slid the straw wrapper around Emily's ring finger.

-:-

After eating, planning and a jet ride, the team walked into the airport in DC a couple hours later. They were immediately met with the smell of sugar cookies and their bubbly technical analyst.

"Hello, my loves." Garcia exclaimed, handing a tin of cookies to her little genius and exchanging hugs with the team. "What did I miss, other than you guys?"

"Whor-wan an wem-wy aw wenwange." Reid mumbled inaudibly, his mouth full of cookie. Everyone looked at him, confused. After swallowing, he tried again. "Morgan and Emily are engaged."

Penelope's face went from shock to pure elation. She grabbed them, engulfing them in a second hug. "I had my suspicions about you two. I knew it was meant to be. Now, how long have to been dating without telling me?" She demanded, slapping Morgan's shoulder.

"Ow! Pen, Emily and I aren't really engaged." Morgan said, rubbing his shoulder.

"But he-" Penelope began, before Prentiss cut her off.

"It's for a bet with Rossi." Emily explained.

"Oh. Well…um…I didn't mean to, uh…" Penelope apologized.

Morgan chuckled. "It's okay, baby girl."

-:-

**DING DONG. **Emily quickly finished tying the drawstring on her sweat pants. She padded down the stairs and opened the door. There stood none other than Derek Morgan, pulling a tiny suitcase and holding a small bag.

"Hey." She greeted, moving aside to let him in. "I guess you'll be staying in my room with me, so…um, do you need help putting all your stuff away?" She asked.

He smiled. "Nope, I'm good. I know where everything is."

"Well, after your done, I made some pasta."

His eyes lit up. "Really? Thanks, Em. You didn't need to…"

She interrupted. "I know. I just figured since I'm the 'wife' I should play the part."

They laughed and he went up stairs, pulling his bags.

10 minutes later, he came down to the kitchen to find the table nicely set with two plates of pasta. They ate, laughed and bickered as usual and things felt actually normal. When they finished, Emily reached to clear the table, but Derek stopped her.

"Ah, ah, ah. No ma'am. You may insist on living up to the housewife cliché, but I refuse to be the lazy-ass husband." He said, grabbing the dishes and moving to the sink. "I got the dishes."

"Are you sure?" Emily asked, smirking.

"Of course. Now shoo, go watch TV." He demanded, softly. "I'll meet you there in a bit."

Smiling, Emily happily obliged. She laid her couch, eyes fixed on her TV screen. To the untrained eye, it looked like she was completely intrigued by her show. However, Derek could tell she wasn't watching it at all. It could've spontaneously burst into flames and she wouldn't have batted an eye. He was right. She wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention. She was too busy wondering if Rossi was right. Did she and Derek fight to often? Their dinner had contained a lot of banter. Maybe this wasn't going to be as easy as they thought… She was so lost in thought that she didn't even notice when Derek walked in and sat down next to her.

"Emily." He said, nudging her softly.

"What?" She replied, still out of it.

"What's on your mind?" He asked knowingly.

Emily considered lying about it, but decided it was no use. This was Derek Morgan, after all. "I'm just…" She began, sighing.

"Not sure what we just got ourselves into?" He finished, chuckling lightly. "I know. Me too. But let's just take it a day at a time, okay? We can make this work. It's just one week."

Emily smiled. At least she wasn't the only one.

**Ugh. I feel like that came out terrible. Don't throw virtual tomatoes at me. I promise it'll get better. Tell me what YOU think though. That's what really matters. Read and review, please! :)**


	3. Chapter 2

**Man, I'm on a posting-spree, aren't I? Third one today! Anyways, here you go. Read away! :]**

Evening eventually turned to night and it got late. Prentiss let out a yawn and turned to her "husband" whose eyes were still glued to the screen. "I'm going to head up for the night." She announced. "You coming or are you staying longer?" 

"Um," He said distractedly. "I'll meet you up there. I just want to see how this ends."

Emily laughed, and pushed herself up from the couch. Who knew Morgan was a Young and The Restless fan? She was learning new (and possibly useful) information. She quickly brushed her teeth and went to bed as usual. She was beyond exhausted, so it wasn't long until the hazy world of dreams began to clash with reality.

-:-

Fifteen minutes later, Morgan made his way up the stairs. He brushed his teeth and changed, then silently made his way over to Emily's bed. She was sound asleep…in the middle. Sure, Prentiss's bed was pretty good sized, so they could both easily fit into it without having to be…up in each other's business. That was, as long as they both stayed on the sides. Morgan stood by the bed for what felt like hours, trying to decide how to proceed. He didn't want to try to move her to her side, as that would wake her up and he couldn't sleep on the floor, as that would break the bet's rules. And he couldn't just plop down next to her so they were touching, right? He didn't want to freak her out. He was at a loss. Morgan just continued to stare at her sleeping form, hoping the answer would come to him. It didn't. Instead, Prentiss groaned and opened one eye.

"Morgan. You can ask me to move, but really, that staring is freaking me out. Just get in already. You're adding inecessary awkwardness." She complained, scooting over, then flipping over so her back was to him.

"I am? You are! If you knew I wanted you to move, why wouldn't you just do it? You have to confront me, don't you?" He shot back, climbing into bed.

"Hey, I was just testing you to see if you were mature enough to handle it on your own. You failed, by the way." She mumbled, teasingly.

He groaned. "I'm not immature."

"Then, why couldn't you just get in?"

"I didn't want to scare you." He explained.

"Scare me? Ha. I bet you were scared to touch me." She replied. He could tell she was smirking just by her tone of voice.

"I was not scared." He defended, calmly.

"Prove it." She challenged.

Morgan threw his arm around Prentiss, pulling her closer and flipping her, so she was facing him. She looked shocked for a split second, but then her face switched back to her typical Prentiss-smirk.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" She teased, resting her head inches from his.

He could feel her breath on his neck. "No." He replied, releasing the breath he was subconsciously holding. "Not at all."

"Told ya." She whispered, before allowing herself to drift back to sleep.

-:-

**BEEP. BEEP. **Both Morgan and Prentiss groaned as her 7:00 alarm went off the next morning. Emily tried to lift her arm to switch it off, only to realize she and Morgan were still…intertwined. Derek must've realized as well, because their eyes shot open at the exact same time. They untangled themselves in record time and leapt from the bed. They just stared at one another, not saying anything for a couple of seconds, before Emily realized the alarm was _still _blaring. She cleared her throat and turned it off.

She turned back to Morgan. "Morning." She mumbled to Derek.

"Uh, yeah. Morning." He said back.

"Do you want to shower first or…?" She asked hesitantly.

"No. Um, go for it." He replied.

She nodded and made a beeline for the bathroom. 20 minutes, a hot shower, and a change of clothes later, she emerged.

"Hey, you can shower now!" She announced, in a slightly better mood.

"Sure." Morgan replied, closing the bathroom door.

"Wait!" Emily exclaimed, grabbing the doorknob.

"What's up?"

Emily blushed, remembering something. "I…um, have to blow dry my hair."

"So…?" Morgan asked, not getting it.

"I need to bathroom." She clarified.

"Oh, um, how long?" He asked.

"Half an hour…" Prentiss responded.

Both of them knew that there wasn't enough time for Morgan to shower and for Prentiss to blow-dry her hair and still get to the BAU. And that wasn't even including driving and eating time. So, they compromised. The hung towels over the clear glass shower while Morgan cleansed himself and Prentiss blow-dried her hair in the mirror not letting her eyes drift anywhere near the shower door. If that wasn't uncomfortable enough, when Morgan finished, Prentiss didn't hear the water stop because of her loud hair-dryer and Morgan had to yell to get her attention.

"Sorry!" Prentiss yelled, unplugging the dryer. "I'm leaving!"

Once she was gone, Morgan dried off and changed as fast as possible. He walked into the kitchen, where Prentiss was sitting fully-dressed, eating a bagel, and attempting to hide her rosy cheeks.

"I made you a bagel!" She announced cheerily, handing it to him.

"Thanks, but tomorrow, I shower first. Then, I can leave while you blow-dry." He responded, taking a bite of the bagel.

"Yeah. Good plan." She responded, embarrassed.

-:-

The made it to the BAU just in time to pour some coffee and still have five minutes to chat with their co-workers before starting their work day.

"How was your first night and morning as a couple?" Rossi asked teasingly.

The two exchanged a glance as JJ walked in. Emily saw her escape. "JJ!" She exclaimed rather loudly, giving the media liason a mini-heart attack. "Just the blonde I needed to see!" Emily grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the kitchen area.

"That bad, huh?" Rossi asked, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe this bet will be easier to win then I thought."

"Our first night was great, actually!" Morgan exclaimed. As awkward it was, he had a pretty good night. His morning could've been better, shower-wise, but it was kind of funny. Plus, it was only the_ first_ night. Things were just getting settled. It was bound to get better. Right?

**Thanks for reading! Your reviews inspire me to write more and **_**faster,**_** so review, please! :] Haha.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Hey friends :) Sorry that took me so long! Hope you enjoy.**

"Urg." Emily groaned, plopping down on her couch dramatically that day after work. "Today sucked."

Morgan chuckled, sitting down next to her. "What do you mean? We didn't even have case!"

"So. Much. Paperwork." She complained, closing her eyes and sighing.

"Em. You've chased and tackled guys three times your size. You've gone weeks without sleep just to find an UnSub. Heck, you've been in a major car accident and you still wanted to work a case. Now some measly paperwork has you drained?"

Emily turned to look at him. "It happens."

Morgan shook his head. "Not to you it doesn't. What's really up?"

Emily exhaled deeply. "Rossi, JJ and Garcia were bugging me all day about the bet. Do you know how much energy it takes to get _all three_ of them off your back? Plus, I'm bored. Paperwork is so uneventful."

"Unfortunately, I do know. Those three can be a real pain in the ass sometimes. But, bored? Really, Em? What are you, fifteen?"

"No, but I wish I was. When we were fifteen there was so much more to do!"

Morgan scoffed. "Like what?"

"Oh, you know. Board games, attempting to bake, crazy stunts…we always found idiotic things to entertain us." Emily replied, smirking.

"We sure did." Morgan said, thinking back. Suddenly, it came to him. "So, let's do it."

"Do what?" Emily asked.

"Be fifteen."

Emily laughed. "For like the millionth time, you're crazy."

Morgan stood. "You bet I am, baby!"

Emily smirked. "Baby?"

He shrugged. "Sorry, force of habit."

"Nah, it's okay." Emily assured, getting an idea. She pushed herself up and motioned for Morgan to follow her. She went into her guestroom and opened the closet. She pulled a big plastic storage box from the top shelf, placing it on the bed. She opened the top and Morgan saw it was filled to the brim with Emily's old stuff, most of which Derek recognized. Old CDs, books, movies and toys from when they were young along with quite a few board games. Emily turned to him grinning widely. "Now, Clue or Monopoly?"

-:-

Hours later, Emily and Morgan were side-by-side, silently absorbed with the task at hand. Morgan's hands shook. He hated doing this. It always made him nervous. He looked at Emily, who nodded in encouragement. He turned back to Sam, hoping wondering how this all would end. Good or…bad? He gulped, not wanting to consider what would happen if he wasn't successful. Finally, deciding he had to do it, he reached towards Sam's abdomen. He stuck his tool in, attempting to remove the offending article without any complications.

He choked.

His hand suddenly got a spasm and his tool slammed into the side of the hole.

"No!" He yelled, as Sam's his body shook violently.

Emily laughed. "Man, you suck! You haven't got a single piece out without setting off the buzzer. You make it so easy to win." She teased, snatching the tiny tweezers from Morgan's hands and expertly removing the Butterfly from Cavity Sam's stomach. "I win."

"Shut up." Morgan said.

"Oh, shutting up is going to be the last thing I do when we get to work tomorrow. I can't wait to tell everyone how bad you are at this game. I mean, Operation? Three year olds play this! You couldn't get a one piece! Good thing you're not a surgeon, Morgan." She said, grinning as she placed Cavity Sam, along with all the fake body parts, paper money, and bent cards back in the Operation box.

"Hey, hey. Who dominated at Monopoly?" He asked, shooting her a look. "This guy, right here! And I'm sure you don't want the team knowing that you were bankrupt after your eighth turn, do you?"

"Touché." Emily huffed, upset she wouldn't get to brag about her board game skills to her co-workers.

"So, what now?" Morgan asked, glancing around the living room. It looked like a preteen's bedroom after a slumber party. Empty pizza boxes and soda cans littered the floor, along with game pieces, CD's, movies, and old toys. But the two profilers were completely and totally oblivious to the massive mess they made. Like fifteen-year-olds, the only thing they were interested in at the moment was having a good time.

"Um…" Emily said, looking around the room. She sifted through the piles of stuff until she finally came upon an Ouija board. "Hey remember this?"

"Oh yeah. You came to visit us and we both got the chicken pox. Ma quarantined us, so Des and Sarah wouldn't get it. And she left that outside our door in hope of getting us to stop watching TV!"

"Yes! And we played with it all day and when it was time for bed, you couldn't sleep 'cuz all the 'ghosts' we're going to get you!" Emily recalled, cracking up.

"That thing is creepy!" He said, grabbing it and shoving it to the bottom of the box. "We aren't using it."

"Aw, Morgan. You're no fun!" Emily whined. "Now what will we do for the rest of the evening?"

"We could bake. Just like we used to!" Morgan tried.

"No, we don't have the right ingredients. I don't keep much baking stuff at home…but we'll go grocery shopping and do that another night." Prentiss said. "How about a movie marathon?"

"We don't have enough time. We have work tomorrow." Morgan pointed out.

"Right, right." Prentiss said tapping her chin. "Oh, I know!"

-:-

Morgan and Prentiss laid out in the grass in Prentiss's backyard admiring the stars in a comfortable silence. Suddenly, Morgan laughed lightly.

"What?" Prentiss asked.

"Who would've thought?" He said. "Twenty-five years ago…"

Emily smiled, completely understanding. "Yeah. I can't believe we even remembered…it was so long ago."

"Man, you're right, Em. It's insane. This whole thing is insane. Awesome, and surprisingly fun, but insane." He replied, busting out laughing.

Emily joined, even though neither we're sure what they were laughing about. They must've looked like psychos…two adults lying on the ground, at night, laughing like there was no tomorrow. But they didn't care. They just went on and on, until it passed the reasonable stage and went on to the teary-eyed, abs-throbbing, literally-rolling-on-the-floor-laughing-for-no-reason phase. They weren't even sure how long it went on. It could've been days. It didn't matter though, it just felt good to just laugh. Eventually, they stopped and just lay there, panting, until reality settled.

Morgan stood, holding a hand out for his dear friend. "Come on, it's about time we call it a night."

Emily nodded, smiling, and took his hand. They stopped in the living room, taking in the disaster they made for the first time.

Emily chuckled, running a hand through her hair as she examined the mess. "Yeah, I'll call a maid tomorrow."

"Good plan." Morgan said as they went upstairs.

They got ready for bed and settled in, without a word. It was nice to not have to say anything. At first they both just stared at the ceiling, until Derek turned towards his 'wife'.

"I had a great time tonight, Em." He said genuinely.

"Me, too." She said, unable to control her huge smile. "I like being fifteen."

"Yeah, we should do it more often." He replied, only half-joking.

Emily shyly scooted closer to Derek and he wrapped his arms around her. She sighed. Though she would never say it out loud, but she liked it when Derek held her. She could tell he liked it, too.

"What's with the sighing?" Morgan asked softly.

"Nothing." She replied sleepily. Then, she realized something. "Hey, Morgan?"

As always, Derek could tell what was coming. "Don't worry, this is a just friends thing. It's just more comfortable this way."

"Good." Emily mumbled, content. By some unspoken vow, she knew even though it was a 'just friends thing', they would not, under any circumstances, tell the team about it. It was just less complicated that way, they wouldn't understand. Plus it would just bring on more teasing and unnecessary, awkward questions. All of a sudden, the exhaustion of the day set in and she drifted to sleep, all coherent thoughts disappearing.

**There you have it. Now, if you guys are really nice and review a lot, I'll return to favor and post the next chapter later tonight or early tomorrow (really early…I have to be up at 5am).**

**Oh, and just to let you know, Cavity Sam is the name of the man on the Operation game board. :) And for those you don't know what a Ouija board is…it's a game board-ish thing that people use to contact ghosts…kind of hard to explain. I have three and they're pretty creepy…Haha. Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Okay, so I posted this chapter like a week ago, but it says that absolutely no one has seen or read it, so unless my stories readers have all mysteriously disappeared, I'm pretty sure something's wrong. So, I'm posting it again. Yes, there may be two of the same chapter up now…but whatever. If that happens, I'll just delete one. Sorry if it didn't post the first time. Happy reading, friends!**

The next morning went perfect. Or as close to perfect things could get involving Emily Prentiss and Derek Morgan. They woke up on time, still in a good mood from the previous day's goofy activities. Morgan showered while Prentiss got up and called a cleaning service for the appalling living room. Then, she got showered and ready and was pleased to find Derek sitting in the kitchen with two plates of eggs. Needless to say, they were both uncharacteristically pleasant this particular morning, which made things run smoothly. Typically, both Morgan and Prentiss were rather grumpy in the morning, so when the team saw the two of them saunter on in to the BAU, smiling, they immediately knew something was up.

"Hmm, those two are awfully cheery…" Rossi observed, shocked.

"I wonder why…?" JJ said.

"On it." Penelope said, handing JJ the files she was delivering and making her way to the copy machine, which was conveniently very close to the coffee machine, where Morgan and Prentiss were filling up their mugs and recalling things from the evening before.

"I don't even know why we started laughing!" Morgan said.

Prentiss smiled as Penelope walked in and was eavesdropping while 'making copies'.

"Oh, I know." Emily whisper-laughed. "It was so random and crazy."

"Oh, yeah. It was weird, one minute we were just laying there, the next, we're rolling around on the floor! How did it even happen?" Morgan replied.

"I know. And we were so loud, too. I'm surprised we didn't wake the neighbors." Emily exclaimed. Penelope stood there in shock. Was she really hearing this?

"We? You were the loud one!" Morgan retorted.

"Okay, I admit, I can be a tad bit loud, but you were just as noisy sometimes, too." She accused.

Morgan grinned. "Fine, fine. We were both loud. We must've gone on forever…I mean once I got started, I couldn't stop!"

Emily nodded. "We're insane. I admit, I was a bit confused at first, but after a while I just let go."

"Yeah, and…it felt good. To just lay there, not caring who saw or heard." Derek admitted.

Penelope was so lost…were Derek and Emily talking about what she thought they were talking about?

"Yeah, I felt so…carefree." Emily said.

"Man, last night was the best, Em." Derek said, grabbing his coffee and heading towards the door. "We should do it again sometime."

Penelope scurried from the room, her mind racing. Had Derek and Emily…done it last night? No, that was completely unrealistic. But…what else could they have been talking about? She decided she needed a second, third and fourth opinion.

Penelope grabbed Reid from his desk and despite his confused protests, led him to Rossi's office where JJ and Rossi were chatting. She walked into the room, closing the door behind her.

"Oh, come right in…" Rossi mumbled quietly.

"I think they're sleeping together!" Penelope exclaimed.

"Well, yes. That's part of the bet…" Rossi said, standing up from his desk.

"No, like _sleeping_ together." She clarified.

JJ laughed. "Pen, what makes you think that?"

"Well, what would you think if two individuals of the opposite sex were having a conversation about something crazy they did last night that involved rolling around on the floor, being loud enough to wake their neighbors and making them feel 'free'?" She asked. Getting no answers and wide-eyed stares from all of them, she sighed. "Yeah, I know. That's what I thought, too."

"Well, are you sure you heard them right?" Rossi questioned.

"Yes, I am totally sure I heard Derek say 'I could've gone on forever' and 'Once, I started, I couldn't stop'." Garcia repeated.

"Oh my gosh." JJ said.

"Um, wow." Reid said, flushing slightly.

"I know. I mean, it's obvious they like each other but I didn't think they'd…jump into it this fast!" Penelope said.

"Me either!" JJ exclaimed.

"Damn. I might lose this bet." Rossi said.

"What do you mean?" Reid asked.

"I mean Prentiss and Morgan seem to be getting along quite well. Maybe even well enough to endure each other's antics for a week." Rossi replied, seriously worried about losing.

"Dang. Hotch said Morgan would leave. I put money down that Emily was going to crack first. I don't want to give Hotch $50." Reid said, receiving blank stares from all three of his team members. "Hey, I'm Vegas-born, remember?"

They nodded, taking that as a viable explanation for his betting.

"Okay, we need to find out for sure. I'll ask Emily." JJ said.

"Yeah, and I'll try to talk to Morgan." Reid offered.

"Good." Rossi said, smirking. "Now, everyone leave."

-:-

Later that day, JJ stopped by Emily's desk hoping to find some answers.

"Hey, Em." She said.

"Hey Jayje. That's not a case by any chance, is it?" Emily asked hopefully, eyeing the papers in JJ's hands.

"I'm afraid not." She responded with a chuckle.

Emily groaned. "I hate filling out reports."

"At least you won't have to do that for a while if you win the bet." JJ said. Emily nodded in agreement. "Speaking of which, how's that going?"

"How's what going?" Emily asked, looking up at JJ.

"The whole…living with Morgan thing." She said, trying to come off as conversational.

Emily grinned. "Great. Better than I expected."

JJ smirked. "Really? What did you do last night?"

"Are we really going to do the whole 'let's bug Emily about the bet thing again'? Emily asked.

"No! I'm just curious. Unless you have something to hide." JJ said.

Emily looked at her strangely. "Um, no. It's a little odd to describe, but last night Morgan and I were bored and decided to be young again. It was enjoyable, although we made a huge mess." She laughed. "It was a weird, yet fun night."

JJ nodded. That sounded pretty convincing. "Okay, that's great. Bye!" She said, rushing off to find Reid.

Emily just shook her head as she watched the media liason hurry away.

-:-

JJ saw Reid's tall form standing near the coffee machine and walked over there.

"Reid! You'll never guess what-" She began, before seeing Reid was standing with Morgan. "Um, I mean. I need to talk to you Reid. It's urgent. Hey, Morgan."

Morgan looked at her suspiciously. "Hey Jayje."

"Um, I'll catch you later Morgan." Reid said before walking off with JJ.

"So, what did you get?" He asked.

"Spence, we can't just talk about it here. Let's go find P.G." JJ stated, pulling him off to where Penelope's office was.

-:-

"You were right!" JJ exclaimed, busting into Penelope's office with Reid. "They might be sleeping together."

"Hello, my loves. Did she admit to anything?" Penelope asked, spinning her chair around to face her friends.

"Not much, but something definitely happened last night. Reid, did Morgan say much?"

"Well, I didn't have much time to ask him because _someone_ pulled me away after like, 30 seconds." He explained, throwing a look at JJ. JJ smiled back apologetically.

"Either way, it's pretty obvious they're together." Penelope said, smiling. "I should be a matchmaker. I called this one way in advance. Now if I could just get you with some sexy BAU profiler, Jayje." She added, smirking at Reid.

Both JJ and Reid burned red and awkwardly mumbled something about getting back to work and exited, making sure not to touch as they hurried to get out of Penelope's office. Penelope giggled to herself and turned back to her computers.

A couple hours later, another boring paperwork day ended and the team began to pack up for the day. Penelope made her way out of the BAU, dying to get home and catch up on her TiVo.

"Have fun tonight, Morgan." She called playfully as she passed his desk. "I know you will."

Morgan furrowed his brow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She stopped in her tracks. Not even TiVo could make her pass up this perfect opportunity to harass Morgan a bit. "Oh, I think you know."

"Baby girl, in all honesty, I have no idea what your talking about."

"Yes, you do. I bet you and Emily have all kinds of wild activities planned for this evening." She said, winking.

"You mean baking cookies? 'Cuz that's what we're doing…" He asked slowly.

"Oh sure. _Baking cookies._ Is that what they call it now?"

"Call what?" Morgan asked, slightly alarmed. "Emily and I are really just baking cookies tonight. Chocolate chips cookies. Just like we used to when we were younger. What do you think we were going to do?"

Penelope froze. Maybe they were really just baking cookies. "Oh. Um, yeah. That's what I was talking about. The cookies." She said quickly, before practically running out of the bullpen.

"Hey, Pen!" He called after her. She didn't stop. "What were you…?"

Emily walked up as he stared after the techie, puzzled. "What was that about?" Emily asked.

He shook his head, lost. "I have no idea."

**The ever-nosy BAU members might be getting the wrong idea…Oops. Haha, anyways, in the next chapter, there will be cookies and Derek Morgan in an apron. (: That's always a good time. Review, please!**


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